Essar, Spirit, and Progressive team up for carbon capture infrastructure

The proposed shipping import terminals would transport industrial carbon dioxide emissions from elsewhere in the world to the Morecambe Net Zero carbon store in the East Irish Sea.

The terminals would sit at Essar Energy Transition-owned Stanlow Terminals’ Tranmere Terminal within the Port of Liverpool and at the Stanlow Manufacturing Complex outside of Ellesmere Port. CO2 captured both domestically and internationally could be transported to the terminals by water, road, or rail rather than by a pipeline.

To enable the delivery of a terminals, EET subsidiary Stanlow Terminals has partnered with Spirit Energy and Progressive Energy to explore the business case for the scheme and assess its feasibility.  The project secured £250,000 from the Liverpool City Region Freeport Innovation Challenge Fund late last year.

Spirit is the owner of the MNZ carbon store, which is capable of storing a gigaton of carbon dioxide. This equates to three years’ worth of the UK’s carbon emissions, according to Spirit. The MNZ is made up of depleted gas fields off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness.

Meanwwhile Progressive specialises in carbon capture and storage projects and is a leading partner behind the HyNet North West low-carbon and hydrogen energy scheme.

“We’re delighted to be working alongside Spirit Energy and Progressive Energy on this important collaboration,” said Mike Gaynon, chief executive of Stanlow Terminals.

“It brings together the right partners with the right expertise to open up new opportunities for CO2 movement and storage and drives forward Stanlow’s broader decarbonisation ambitions,” he continued.

Matt Browell-Hook, energy transition, decommissioning and projects director at Spirit Energy, added: “Carbon capture and storage is not the only answer to net zero 2050 but it is a key enabler to decarbonise industry in the UK.”

“We are progressing with MNZ – one of the largest offshore carbon stores in the world – and through this new collaboration with Essar Energy Transition and Progressive Energy, we’re investigating the potential to provide a route to decarbonisation for emitters from around the UK via the Stanlow site,” he continued.

“Partnerships such as these are crucial to deliver the goals of industrial decarbonisation, protecting existing jobs and boost economic growth in the UK.”